Stages of Second Language Acquisition

Children who are learning to talk go through a process that happens in stages—first understanding, then one-word utterances, then two-word phrases, and so on. Students learning a second language move through five predictable stages: Preproduction, Early Production, Speech Emergence, Intermediate Fluency, and Advanced Fluency (Krashen & Terrell, 1983). How quickly students progress through the stages depends on many factors, including level of formal education, family background, and length of time spent in the country.

It is important that you tie instruction for each student to his or her particular stage of language acquisition. Knowing this information about each student allows you to work within his or her zone of proximal development—that gap between what students can do on their own and what they can with the help of more knowledgeable individuals (Vygotsky, 1978).

Find more information in the Competency 002 for Canvas Power Point and other resources.

Competency 002 for Canvas-1.pdf

First Language Acquisition Baby Videos.pptx

Stephen Krashen's Comprehensible Input Video.pptx

ELPS LEARNING STRATEGIES.docx

telpas-plds.pdf